HDTV editing and effects previsualization using SDTV devices

• US 6,226,038 B1
• Filed: 04/03/1998
• Issued: 05/01/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 04/03/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Avid Technology Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Avid Technology Incorporated
• Inventors: Frink, Craig R., Cacciatoro, Raymond
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Michael
• Application Number:
  US09/054,867
• Time in Patent Office: 1,124 Days
• Field of Search: 348/458, 348/459, 348/446, 348/445, 348/447, 348/448, 348/441, 348/443, 348/720, 348/578, 348/722, 348/575, 345/328, 345/327, 386/123, 386/52, 386/55
• US Class Current: 348/443
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/415 Redundant array of inexpensive disks [RAID] systems
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/034 on discs G11B27/036, G11B27/038 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/262 Studio circuits, e.g. for mixing, switching-over, change of character of image, other special effects ; Cameras specially adapted for the electronic generation of special effects

Abstract

A system provides real-time previsualization of effects to be added to high definition (HD) video data and real-time rendering of the HD video data including the added effects. The computer based system for editing high definition television (HDTV) resolution video includes a high definition video system connected to a standard definition video system and a high definition storage system. A resizer reformats the high definition video data to standard definition resolution for real-time processing and previsualization.

Claims

1. A non-linear system for editing of high definition video data comprising:

a random-access, computer readable and re-writeable storage system for storing high definition video data in data files;

a high definition video system including;

a high definition video data router for receiving high definition video data from the storage system and directing the high definition video data to a first and a second output;

a resizer connected to the first output of the router and having an output providing standard definition resolution video data based on the high definition video data;

a display for receiving the standard definition resolution video data from the output of the resizer;

at least one three-dimensional digital video effects module connected to the high definition router;

at least three coder/decoder processors connected between the storage system and the high definition video data router, wherein the video data router receives three streams of high definition video data from the storage system; and

at least one digital video effects module per stream connected between the coder/decoder processor and the high definition video data router.

2. The non-linear storage system of claim 1, wherein the at least one three-dimensional digital video effects module includes:

at least two high definition-to-standard definition resizers;

at least two standard definition-to-high definition resizers; and

a standard definition three-dimensional digital video effects module.

3. A non-linear system for editing of high definition video data comprising:

a random-access, computer-readable and re-writeable storage system for storing high definition video data in data files;

a high definition video system including;

a high definition video data router for receiving high definition video data from the storage system and directing the high definition video data to a first and a second output;

a resizer connected to the first output of the router and having an output providing standard definition resolution video data based on the high definition video data; and

a high definition output module connected to the second output of the router; and

a standard definition video editing system including;

a standard definition digital video effects module having an input for receiving the output of the resizer; and

a standard definition monitor for previsualizing video data with the added effects which is output from the standard definition digital video effects module.

4. The non-linear system as recited in claim 3, wherein the high definition output module is connected to a high definition television resolution monitor for full resolution viewing of the edited video data.

5. The non-linear system as recited in claim 3, wherein the high definition video data router is a multiformat router.

6. The non-linear system as recited in claim 3, wherein the router receives two streams of data.

7. The non-linear system as recited in claim 6, further including at least two resizers.

8. The non-linear system as recited in claim 3, further including digital video effects equipment receiving an output of the resizer.

9. The non-linear system as recited in claim 3, wherein the standard definition digital video effects module receives the output of the resizer at the rate of the high definition video data.

10. The non-linear system as recited in claim 3, wherein the standard definition video editing system includes a standard definition buffer to receive the output of the resizer.

11. The non-linear system as recited in claim 3, wherein the high definition video system includes a high definition coder/decoder processor.

12. A method for editing high definition video data using standard definition video equipment comprising the steps of:

receiving high definition video data;

resizing the high definition video data to fit the bandwidth of the standard definition video equipment;

adding effects to the resized high definition video data in real-time using the standard definition video equipment;

previsualizing the resized high definition video data in real-time including the added effects on standard definition video equipment; and

rendering full resolution high definition video data with the added effects.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the resizing step further includes:

saving an original copy of the high definition video data in a data file;

performing the resizing on a copy of the high definition video data.

14. The method of claim 12, further including storing the result of the rendering step in a data file.

15. A resizer for reformatting high definition video data to fit within bandwidth limits of a lower definition system including:

a demultiplexer for separating components of high definition video data, the demultiplexer having an input for receiving high definition video data and an output for sending separated components of the high definition video data;

a first set of registers having an input for receiving an output of the demultiplexer and an output for sending data at a rate determined by a resize factor for reformatting the high definition video data;

a second set of registers having an input for receiving an output of the first set of registers at the rate determined by the resize factor and having an output for sending data at the high definition data rate; and

a first buffer having an input for receiving an output of the second set of registers at a high definition data rate and an output for sending data at a lower resolution data rate;

a second buffer having an input for receiving the output of the data at the lower resolution data rate from the first buffer and

outputting resized video data.

16. The resizer of claim 15, wherein the components of the high definition video data are luma and chroma components.

17. The resizer of claim 15, further including:

a resizer for operating on a chroma component of the high definition video data; and

a resizer for operating on a luma component of the high definition video data.

18. The resizer of claim 15, wherein the first and second buffers are a first-in-first-out buffer.

19. A non-linear video editing system comprising:

a random-access, computer-readable and re-writeable storage medium for storing video data in data files, wherein the video data defines images having greater than 525 scan lines and having a component rate of more than 30 frames/second;

a non-linear editor for defining a video program as a sequence of portions of the data files, wherein each portion of a data file is defined by a reference to the data file and a range within the data file and for defining one or more effects;

means for reading the video data from the storage medium according to the defined video program;

at least one resizer having an input for receiving the video data read from the storage medium to provide output video data having a spatial resolution of less than or equal to 525 scan lines and having a component rate of less than or equal to 30 frames/second;

at least one video effects module having an input for receiving the output of the resizer and an output providing edited video data in real time according to the one or more effects defined for the video program; and

a display connected to the output of the at least one video effects module for previsualizing the edited resized video data.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the display is a progressive scan display.

21. The system of claim 19, wherein the display is an interlaced format display.

22. The system of claim 19, further comprising:

a high definition video system including;

a high definition video data router for receiving high definition video data from the storage medium and directing the high definition video data to a first and a second output wherein the resizer is connected to the first output and a high definition display is connected to the second output.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein the high definition video data router is a multiformat router.

24. The system of claim 22, wherein the high definition video router receives two streams of data.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein the at least one resizer is at least a plurality of resizers.

26. The system of claim 19, wherein the video effects module receives the output of the resizer at the rate of the high definition video data.

27. The system of claim 19, further comprising a standard definition buffer to receive the output of the resizer.

28. The system of claim 22, wherein the high definition video system includes a high definition coder/decoder processor.

29. A method for editing high definition video data using standard definition video equipment comprising the steps of:

defining a video program with nonlinear editor as a sequence of portions of data files, wherein each portion of a data file is defined by a reference to the data file and a range within the data file, and including one or more effects;

receiving high definition video data from data files stored on a random-access computer readable and writeable storage medium according to the defined video program;

resizing the high definition video data to fit the bandwidth of the standard definition video equipment;

adding effects to the resized high definition video data in real-time using the standard definition video equipment according to the defined video program;

previsualizing the resized high definition video data in real-time including the added effects on standard definition video equipment; and

rendering full resolution high definition video data with the added effects.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the resizing step further includes:

saving an original copy of the high definition video data in a data file;

performing the resizing on a copy of the high definition video data.

31. The method of claim 29, further including storing the result of the rendering step in a data file.